Gippsland Times & Maffra Spectator
04/01/2008 Page: 1
SYNERGY Wind Pty Ltd has won its battle to erect wind turbines at Devon North. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal rejected residents' and landholders' objections and set aside Wellington Shire Council's decision to refuse a permit for the wind farm. In its December 21 decision VCAT argued the proposal was acceptable in regard to the balance between government policy weighting toward establishment of WEFs and local amenity issues.
It likened the need to place WEFs in specific locations as being the same as for quarries or mines, placement being dictated by the availability of the resource. It imposed 22 conditions on the permit, with work to commence within four years and project completion to be within six years. Wellington Shire Council acting chief executive Ralf Kastan said council would not appeal the decision.
"VCAT decisions are final, unless contested on a point of law in the Supreme Court and we won't be doing that," Mr Kastan said. "With all 22 conditions to comply with Synergy Wind has a fair bit of work to do. We issued the permit on December 21, the last working day before the Christmas break," he said. "It will now be up to Synergy Wind to demonstrate to the appropriate authorities they have complied with all 22 of the conditions." Mr Kastan emphasised due process had been carried out with numerous opportunities for interested parties to put their case.
Explaining its decision the tribunal, headed by Jeanette Rickards, commented proposals to construct and operate wind energy facilities are often hotly contested matters, raising issues of noise, and loss of landscape values by those surrounding the proposed site.
"This proposal is no different," the VCAT determination reads. "The grounds (for objection) were substantially centred around (sic) perceptions of amenity impacts to their rural lifestyle. "Issues relating to birds (wildlife), bushfire risks and other matters were also raise (sic) but not actively pursued in this hearing." Synergy Wind amended its original proposal from nine turbines to seven. Each tower would be 80 metres tall at the hub with a total height to blade tip of 128 metres.
The highest turbine would have a maximum blade elevation of 278 metres above sea level. The power generated would be linked by above-ground power lines from the WEF to a 66,000-volt line on the Yarram-Morwell Rd, five kilometres south of the project. Synergy Wind did not answer telephone calls or emails from the Gippsland Times.
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